SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
published: 15 April 2021
Edited by:
Corinne Jola,
Abertay University, United Kingdom
Reviewed by:
Pamela Burnard,
University of Cambridge,
United Kingdom
Roger Mantie,
University of Toronto
Scarborough, Canada
*Correspondence:
Verena Schneider
verena.schneider@lcds.ac.uk
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Health Psychology,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology
Received: 30 October 2020
Accepted: 11 March 2021
Published: 15 April 2021
Citation:
Schneider V and Rohmann A (2021)
Arts in Education: A Systematic
Review of Competency Outcomes in
Quasi-Experimental and Experimental
Studies. Front. Psychol. 12:623935.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623935
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623935
Arts in Education: A Systematic
Review of Competency Outcomes in
Quasi-Experimental and
Experimental Studies
Verena Schneider* and Anette Rohmann
Department of Community Psychology, FernUniversität in Hagen (University of Hagen), Hagen, Germany
Arts education in schools frequently experiences the pressure of being validated by
demonstrating quantitative impact on academic outcomes. The quantitative evidence
to date has been characterized by the application of largely correlational designs and
frequently applies a narrow focus on instrumental outcomes such as academically
relevant competencies. The present review aims to summarize quantitative evidence
from quasi-experimental and experimental studies with pre-test post-test designs on the
effects of school-based arts education on a broader range of competency outcomes,
including intra- and interindividual competencies. A systematic literature search was
conducted to identify relevant evaluation studies. Twenty-four articles reporting on 26
evaluation studies were eligible for inclusion, and their results were reviewed in terms of
art domains and outcome categories. Whilst there is some evidence of beneficial effects
on some competencies, for example of music education on arithmetic abilities, speech
segmentation and processing speed, the evidence across arts domains and for different
outcomes is limited due to small sample sizes, small number of studies, and a large
range of effect sizes. The review highlights that sufficiently powered (quasi-)experimental
studies with pre-test post-test designs evaluating arts education are sparse and that
the “gold standard” of experimental research comes at the expense of a number of
other study characteristics such as sample size, intervention and follow-up length. By
summarizing the limitations of the current (quasi-)experimental research, the application
of experimental designs is critically assessed and a combination with qualitative methods
in mixed-method designs and choice of relevant outcomes discussed.
Keywords: arts education, music, dance, drama, visual arts, systematic (literature) review, competencies
INTRODUCTION
Can the arts promote the creative skills needed for innovation? What are the beneficial effects
of music training on computation skills, spatial performance, memory and reading skills? Do
actors have better verbal and emotional skills? Can dance promote a sense of belonging? Does arts
education improve educational attainment, attention and motivation?
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Schneider and Rohmann
Questions about effects of arts education on outcomes such
as academic achievement and competencies have inspired much
research in an effort to defend the arts’ position in curricula.
Qualitative, mixed-method and quantitative research support the
notion that engagement in the arts can contribute to positive
outcomes such as academic achievement, attainment, social
behavior and social transformation alongside health benefits such
as wellbeing (Deasy, 2002; Ewing, 2010; McLellan et al., 2012a,
2015; Winner et al., 2013; Fancourt and Finn, 2019). However,
the so-called “gold standard” experimental research designs are
rare, and findings on the causal impact on academically relevant
outcomes have frequently been limited or inconclusive (e.g.,
Winner et al., 2013). Yet, experimental designs are often not
suitable for educational evaluation studies and their ability to
capture the complex experiences in arts learning have been
questioned (Ewing, 2010). Further, small sample sizes and short
follow-up periods are common in experimental studies and
preclude confidence in conclusions. Finally, while the choice
of instrumental outcomes such as children’s performances in
other subjects may seem attractive, the implications of an
exclusive focus on such outcomes have been critically discussed
(Winner et al., 2013). The current review therefore seeks,
first, to summarize the evidence from quasi-experimental and
experimental studies on a range of transferrable skills and
competency outcomes in school-based arts education. Second, it
seeks to describe and evaluate the methodological characteristics
of the included studies and implications on conclusions.
According to Oxford University Press (2019), art is defined
as the “expression or application of human creative skill and
imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or
sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their
beauty or emotional power” (1st paragraph), and the arts as the
“various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music,
literature, and dance” (2nd paragraph). These definitions are
reflective of the arts as activities which involve creative problem
solving and opportunities for expression. Arts engagement can
further involve social interaction and collaboration and allow
for an exploration of the self in an environment removed from
the binary evaluation of performance as either right or wrong.
The arts may therefore be well positioned to stimulate the
development of intra- and interpersonal outcomes. For example,
as McLellan et al. (2012b) argue using the theoretical framework
of the self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan, 1985), the
arts may offer opportunities for experiences of competence,
autonomy and relatedness which in turn promote motivation
and wellbeing.
State of Research
Research into the impacts of arts education can be categorized
by the type of arts experience or engagement. First, research
can be categorized whether it evaluates the effects of arts
appreciation or that of active arts participation. For example,
a long research tradition has examined the so-called Mozart
effect, in which Rauscher et al. (1993) observed that participants
showed significantly higher spatial performance after listening
to a Mozart sonata. Although, replications and meta-analyses
have struggled to confirm these effects (e.g., Pietschnig et al.,
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Arts in Education
2010). Second, arts can be taught as a stand-alone subject or be
integrated into other subjects or the wider teaching approach.
For example, arts integration has been found to be beneficial
across art domains, ages and outcomes (e.g., Hardiman et al.,
2014; Lee et al., 2015; Brown et al., 2018). However, the term arts
integration is often interchangeably used for different approaches
(Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM, 2019), varying from
arts enrichment which uses the arts as a tool of engagement
to using science, technology, engineering, the arts and math to
guide students’ critical thinking (STEAM; Perignat and Katz-
Buonincontro, 2019). The distinction between different forms of
engagement and degree of integration appears important to take
account of the very different experiences and aims.
Third, a distinction can be made by the consideration of
intrinsic (e.g., express communal meaning, McCarthy et al.,
2004) vs. instrumental outcomes (e.g., academic outcomes).
McCarthy and colleagues note that the former is rarely
considered in the literature. In their review of arts and transfer
into non-arts domains, Winner et al. (2013) critically discuss
the sole focus on instrumental outcomes as these promote an
evaluation of the arts as a means to an end rather than for their
own sake. The Reviewing Education and the Arts Project (REAP)
(Hetland and Winner, 2001; Winner and Hetland, 2001) included
a series of meta-analyses to assess the relationship between
arts engagement and academic outcomes. The results indicated
that, despite some positive correlations, the only significant
causal claims concerned the effects of music listening and music
instruction on spatial reasoning (Hetland, 2000a,b) and of drama
on verbal skills (Podlozny, 2000). Music training may also
positively affect math outcomes (Vaughn, 2000); however, there
was a too-large range of effects in a small number of studies
to draw definitive conclusions. The same was true for dance,
with some evidence found for effects on visual-spatial skills, but
again based on a small number of studies (Keinänen et al., 2000).
Evidence for the effects of the arts on creativity transfer could
not be found (Moga et al., 2000). In 2013, a review published by
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) updated and extended the findings of REAP (Winner
et al., 2013) by including evaluations of behavioral and social
outcomes. Evidence from quasi-experimental and experimental
studies indicated social and behavioral benefits of drama, such
as empathy, emotion regulation, and perspective-taking. Effects
of music training were found on academic performance as well
as intelligence, word decoding and phonological skills. There
were also indications of a beneficial effect of music on language
learning, but limited support for an effect on visual-spatial
reasoning. Associations between drama or dance and creativity
were apparent but based on only a few studies with small
sample sizes, therefore limiting the ability to draw conclusions. A
further series of reviews of quantitative and qualitative evaluation
studies of arts in schools and the community by Jindal-Snape
et al. (2014a,b, 2018) found similarly varied results concerning
academic outcomes, with a tendency for effects to be more
evident in music and multi-art contexts and more pronounced
among pre-school children.
In general, the quantitative research to date provides mixed
evidence regarding the effects of the arts on academic outcomes
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Schneider and Rohmann
and largely remains on the correlational level. However, there are
a few implications when interpreting these results. A difficulty
when comparing results from different studies and programs
is a lack of a common evaluation approach and programs’
unique characteristics, contexts and quality (Ewing, 2010).
Programs exhibit a substantial heterogeneity with respect to
art domains, content, intensity, duration and delivery methods
of arts classes or interventions, all across a small number of
studies. For example, failing to distinguish between different
forms of engagement with the arts (passive or active), how they
are integrated into the school curriculum and whether they
are offered in the form of a compulsory or extra-curricular
activity adds many factors that may affect research results in
different ways.
The current review aims to reduce some of the above
heterogeneity by synthesizing effects from quasi-experimental
or experimental pre-test post-test designs on the impact of arts
education on a range of competencies. It seeks to evaluate
programs which involve active involvement in the arts and
teaching of the arts per se. Further, it aims to critically evaluate the
strengths and limitations of the included studies. A wide range
of outcomes will be included, and a framework of educational
outcomes, the OECD’s Definition and Selection of Competencies
(DeSeCo; Rychen and Salganik, 2003) will be used to group
outcomes into broader categories.
A Categorization of Outcomes
We grouped outcomes into categories based on DeSeCo (Rychen
and Salganik, 2003). The framework was the result of an
international, interdisciplinary and collaborative effort led by
Switzerland and supported by the OECD. Key competencies were
identified in an extensive process bringing together empirical
evidence, scholars and experts from different disciplines,
including a final consolidation and revision phase. Providing a
categorization of educational outcomes, the DeSeCo considers
individuals’ needs to lead a successful life and the needs of a
functioning society. These competencies are summarized into
three categories, namely using tools interactively, interacting in
socially heterogeneous groups, and acting autonomously. First,
using tools interactively encompasses key competencies relating to
using the tools of language and symbols, technology, information
and knowledge. Second, interacting in socially heterogeneous
groups refers to the social skills needed to work collaboratively
in a diverse and multicultural society, to be able to control one’s
emotions and to show empathy when relating to others and
dealing with conflict. Third, acting autonomously encompasses
the key competencies needed for an individual to make
autonomous life choices and feel empowered to do so. Finally, an
underlying feature that applies to all categories of competencies
is reflectiveness, the ability to go beyond knowledge and
skills, to assimilate, change and adapt. Reflectiveness therefore
encompasses meta-cognitive skills as well as the cognitive skills
essential for creative thinking.
Instrumental perspectives in evaluating arts education have
frequently focused on outcomes relating to the DeSeCo category
using tools interactively (e.g., by assessing transfer effects to
non-arts subjects, linguistic or computational skills). However,
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Arts in Education
given the more process focused, intrinsic experiences of the arts,
one may expect stronger effects on the categories relating to
the inter- and intra-individual outcomes (i.e., “soft” skills) than
on transfer of learning to non-arts subjects (e.g., development
of social bonds and empathy; McCarthy et al., 2004). While
the DeSeCo categories were developed in consideration of
competencies which are instrumental to a successful life, they
may also contribute to the innate psychological needs for
competence, relatedness and autonomy, which are the three key
needs proposed in the motivational self-determination theory
(Deci and Ryan, 1985). The DeSeCo framework was thus
chosen as a tool to group a wide range of outcomes into
categories and to enable an exploration of effects on similar and
dissimilar outcomes.
Research Questions
The current review seeks to systematically review competency-
based outcomes and effect sizes in (quasi-) experimental studies
of school-based arts education. Further, the review seeks to
critically assess the qualities of the included studies in respect to
limitations of (quasi-) experimental research in arts education.
Research questions and exclusion and inclusion criteria are
defined using the PICOS framework (participants, interventions,
comparators, outcomes, and study design; Liberati et al., 2009).
Participants are defined as children or adolescents from the
general population attending formal compulsory education post
pre-school. This review considers programs in which art is
taught as a stand-alone subject with a minimum session duration
of twenty minutes, as opposed to arts-integrated teaching
within or in combination with other subjects, focusing on
four art domains which are most frequently implemented in
school curricula, namely the domains of music, drama, dance,
and visual arts. Comparators include both active (treated)
control groups participating in a non-arts or different arts
program as well as untreated control groups following the
standard curriculum. Studies reporting effect sizes on outcomes
relating to the DeSeCo framework (Rychen and Salganik, 2003)
are included. The included study designs are natural/quasi-
experimental, or experimental with pre-test post-test designs.
Based on the above PICOS definitions, the review seeks to
answer the following exploratory research questions: (1) How
effective is arts education with respect to outcomes in the DeSeCo
categories (a) using tools interactively, (b) interacting in socially
heterogonous groups, (c) acting autonomously and d) the concept
of reflectiveness? (2) What are the methodological characteristics,
strengths and limitations of the included studies?
METHODS
The initial literature search was conducted in March 2019,
following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Moher et al., 2009).
The databases PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Behavioral Science
Collection, PSYNDEX, Education Source and ERIC were
searched with search strings combining terms related to art
domains, intervention evaluation, and thesaurus explorations
of relevant outcome variables (Supplementary Table 1).
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Bibliographies of relevant meta-analyses and systematic
literature reviews and further publications by authors with
relevant studies were searched manually. The total number
of search results was 1,807 from the databases and 13 from
additional sources, leaving 1,681 search results after the removal
of duplicates (Figure 1).
The first author screened the articles’ titles, abstracts and
full texts against the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles
were included if they were research articles published in English
or German in peer-reviewed journals, were evaluation studies
of arts education for children and/or adolescents within the
school curriculum, with outcome variables relating to the above
DeSeCo categories (Rychen and Salganik, 2003) and if they used
a quantitative or mixed methods approach with a natural/quasi-
experimental or experimental pre- and post-test design. Excluded
were studies reporting on extra-curricular programs (e.g., after-
school clubs) or implemented in pre-schools, kindergarten, or
post-school contexts (e.g., universities), that were integrated as
therapeutic interventions or addressed specific populations (e.g.,
children with autism). Further, due to the risk of bias from
other confounding effects, studies reporting on programs in
which the arts were just one intervention component out of
several (e.g., family counseling) were excluded. Finally, to take
account of the problematic interpretation of results based on
binary significance results (Siddaway et al., 2019), studies that
reported neither effect sizes nor sufficient statistics allowing
for the extraction and interpretation of effect sizes were also
excluded. After title and abstract screening, the full texts of the
54 remaining articles were screened, and 23 articles reporting
a total of 25 studies were retained. The search was updated in
April 2020 (Supplementary Table 1) and one additional relevant
study was identified that had been published after the first
search. Ten percent of articles during the title and abstract
screening and another ten percent of articles during the full
text screening were double-screened by a second independent
reviewer. Discrepancies between the two reviewers were resolved
through discussion, leading to full agreement on the inclusion
and exclusion of articles based on the pre-defined criteria.
Study characteristics relating to randomization, type of
control group, sample size, participant age or grade, program
intensity and duration, main outcome measures, results and
effect sizes were extracted for each study and are summarized
in Supplementary Table 2. Further, theorized mechanisms of
change in the included studies were recorded. While the study
inclusion was based on effect size estimates, the precision of
effect size estimates is dependent on the sample size. To address
concerns about the accuracy of effect size estimates from small
samples, as well as a possible overestimation bias in eta-squared
(Morris, 2008; Fritz et al., 2012; Lakens and Evers, 2014),
additional confidence intervals and alternative effect sizes were
calculated where possible (Lenhard and Lenhard, 2016; Uanhoro,
2017; Stangroom, 2019). Morris’ (2008) recommendation on the
use of effect sizes in pre-test post-test control group designs
was applied where possible. These additional calculations were
dependent on the availability of information in the papers
regarding sample sizes, means and standard deviations of
pre- and post-test scores. Furthermore, these calculations were
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Arts in Education
limited to statistical designs that did not include covariates or
adjustments for violations of test assumptions. Effect sizes were
interpreted as small, medium and large according to Cohen’s
conventions (Cohen, 1988).
RESULTS
The following narrative summary of included studies is
structured into two sections. The first section summarizes effects
on outcomes relating to the DeSeCo categories using tools
interactively, and the second section reports the outcomes on
the “soft” skill outcomes in the categories interacting in socially
heterogonous groups, acting autonomously and reflectiveness.
Analysis of Studies With Outcomes
Relating to the DeSeCo Categories Using
Tools Interactively
Music Education
Twelve studies assessing outcomes of music education relating
to the DeSeCo category using tools interactively fulfilled the
inclusion criteria. Most used quasi-experimental designs, with
the exception of two studies with experimental designs (Rickard
et al., 2012, Study 2; Rabinowitch et al., 2013), and a
treated control group was implemented in seven studies. Study
characteristics were very heterogenous, with sample sizes varying
between n = 28 and n = 345, and program intensity and
duration varying from weekly 20-min classes over an 8-week
period (Brodsky and Sulkin, 2011, Study 3) to 7 h per week over
several years (e.g., Degé et al., 2011; Supplementary Table 2).
Two studies assessed arithmetic skills as an outcome of music
education. A large effect size on arithmetic skills was extracted
from one study of children receiving music composition classes
(Bugos and Jacobs, 2012), and a small effect size on computation
scores was found among children taking piano lessons (Costa-
Giomi, 1999). Processing speed was assessed in three studies,
revealing a medium effect of music composition training (Bugos
and Jacobs, 2012) and trivial (Guo et al., 2018) to small effects
of instrumental music training (Roden et al., 2014b). Working
memory was assessed in five studies, and whilst there was some
evidence for medium to large effects of music training on verbal
or auditory components of working memory in three studies
(Degé et al., 2011; Roden et al., 2012, 2014a), others had mixed
results, with trivial and small effect sizes or even contrary results
for the second year of intervention (Rickard et al., 2010; Guo
et al., 2018). In contrast to auditory functions, visual functions,
such as visual attention or memory, were generally not expected
to be affected by musical education. The range of effect sizes,
spanning from small with negative valence (Roden et al., 2014b)
to null or small effects with positive valence (Rickard et al., 2010;
Bugos and Jacobs, 2012; Roden et al., 2012) and medium positive
effect sizes Degé et al. (2011), may support the expected absence
of effects of music education on visual functions. Furthermore,
the effects of music education on vocabulary and verbal learning
variables ranged from small effect sizes with negative valence
to small effect sizes with positive valence (Rickard et al., 2010;
Bugos and Jacobs, 2012; Guo et al., 2018), with the exception of
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Schneider and Rohmann
FIGURE 1 | PRISMA flow diagram.
two medium-sized effects on language skills (Costa-Giomi, 1999)
and verbal learning (Rickard et al., 2010). Brodsky and Sulkin
(2011, Study 3) reported a large effect size on a composite score of
dictation content and technical aspects of handwriting. No effects
of music education on overall intelligence were found (Degé et al.,
2011).
Drama Education
One experimental study with an untreated control group
evaluated the effect of a 2-hour long weekly drama class
with a total duration of 12 weeks on measures of intelligence
(Köksal Akyol, 2018). In the sample of 46 first grade children,
a medium effect of the drama intervention on the verbal-
linguistic intelligence subscale of the Turkish adaptation of the
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Arts in Education
Teele Inventory for Multiple Intelligences (TIMI; adapted by
Göǧebakan, 2003, as cited in Köksal Akyol, 2018) did not reach
significance. No effects were found on the mathematical-logical
or visual-spatial subscales.
Comparisons Between Different Art Domains
Four evaluation studies included in this review compared the
effects of an arts program to that of another arts program in
a different domain (Rickard et al., 2012; François et al., 2013;
Hogenes et al., 2016). Two studies were experimental, and sample
sizes ranged from n = 24 to n = 133.
Comparing the verbal learning and verbal intelligence over
time of students who received an increased frequency of music
or drama lessons (Rickard et al., 2012, Study 1) revealed no
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differences in verbal learning and delayed recall. However, a
small effect size corresponding to greater improvement among
music students was found for measures of immediate recall.
When comparing a group of music students to a painting group,
music training affected speech segmentation processes with a
large effect size (François et al., 2013). Regarding non-verbal
intelligence, a large extracted effect size indicated that students
receiving increased music compared to increased drama classes
exhibited greater improvement (Rickard et al., 2012, Study 1).
Finally, Hogenes et al. (2016) compared the effects of a music
composition to a music performance intervention. A medium
effect size for the between-group differences on post-test reading
comprehension was due to a larger decrease among students
in the music performance group when controlling for pre-
test scores.
Proposed Mechanisms of Change
Several mechanisms to explain effects of the arts on non-
arts outcomes were proposed by the authors of the included
studies. For example, it was suggested that the simultaneous
processing of multiple sensory cues required when playing
music can explain working memory enhancement, specifically
enhancement of auditory components, including verbal memory
(e.g., componential model of working memory, Baddeley, 2010;
Roden et al., 2014a). Others propose that improved attention and
mental processing speed due to music engagement may cause
effects on academic performance (Roden et al., 2014b).
Other indirect pathways are proposed by applying
motivational, social learning and evolutionary theories to the
context of arts learning. Arts engagement may offer opportunities
to experience flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975) and therefore
improved attention and concentration (Bugos and Jacobs, 2012).
Other pathways involving motivational learning processes have
been suggested with respect to collaborative learning in the arts
(e.g., Vygotsky, 1977). An evolutionary perspective was applied
to the domain of childlore and handclapping songs (Brodsky and
Sulkin, 2011, Study 3). The latter was described as a naturally
occurring activity in 6–9-year-old children, with evidence of its
existence dating back to 2000 BC. Combining sensory-motor,
social and verbal/linguistic elements, the study’s authors propose
an evolutionary developmental purpose predicted to affect
development in non-arts domains such as motor and cognitive
development (Brodsky and Sulkin, 2011, Study 3).
Analysis of Studies With Outcomes
Relating to the DeSeCo Categories
Interacting in Socially Heterogonous
Groups, Acting Autonomously
and Reflectiveness
Music Education
Five evaluation studies of musical programs included in
this review addressed outcomes relating to the DeSeCo
categories interacting in socially heterogonous groups or acting
autonomously. Two studies used an experimental design and
three studies a treated control group, with sample sizes varying
between n = 24 and n = 84. The intensity and duration of
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Arts in Education
interventions ranged from weekly 30–60-min classes over a 3-
month to a 3-year period.
Effect sizes regarding social skills and behavior were extracted
from four studies (Rickard et al., 2012, study 2; Rabinowitch
et al., 2013; Schellenberg et al., 2015; Roden et al., 2016).
Whilst Roden and colleagues found that extended music training
buffered against increases in aggressive behavior observed in the
control group, an effect of large size, the opposite trend was
observed for self-reported aggression in the study by Rickard and
colleagues. Rabinowitch and colleagues found that an interactive
musical intervention improved empathy in the music group
compared to the control group, an effect of medium size. For a
subgroup with lower social skills at baseline, Schellenberg and
colleagues reported large effects of the group × time interaction
on sympathy and prosocial behavior due to significant increases
in the music group. Regarding intra-personal outcomes, two
studies assessed effects of music education on self-esteem (Costa-
Giomi, 1999; Rickard et al., 2012, Study 2), but neither study
reported effect sizes. Costa-Giomi (1999) reported a significant
effect on self-esteem among children receiving piano lessons and
computations revealed a small effect. However, Rickard et al.
(2012) did not report significant group × time interactions when
comparing three groups of music, drama and control students
over time.
Drama Education
Five studies assessed drama interventions’ effects on social
competency outcomes (Walsh-Bowers, 1992; Walsh-Bowers and
Basso, 1999; Rickard et al., 2012; Köksal Akyol, 2018). Four of
these applied a non-treated control group and two randomized
group allocation with sample sizes varying from n = 44 to n =
104. Program intensity and duration ranged from one 40-min to
five 60-min classes per week over periods of 12–15 weeks.
Köksal Akyol (2018) reported no experimental effects on
intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence measures. In fact,
effect sizes calculated from the data provided in the article
suggest a small effect on interpersonal intelligence in the opposite
direction as expected. Three studies conducted by Walsh-Bowers
and colleagues (Walsh-Bowers, 1992; Walsh-Bowers and Basso,
1999) assessing social skill development in adolescents in a drama
program showed mixed results. There were generally no effects
on self-rating scales of confidence in social situations, except for
one small effect on self-rated cooperation (Walsh-Bowers and
Basso, 1999; Study 1). Intervention effects on teacher ratings
of social skills differed widely between studies, ranging from
medium and large effect sizes in support of the drama program to
large effects in the opposite direction, and intervention effects on
parents’ ratings of social skills ranged from small to large across
studies in support of the intervention. As with music students,
self-rated aggression scores among drama students seemed to
increase in comparison to a non-treatment control group over
time (Rickard et al., 2012, Study 2). However, the group × time
interaction was only marginally significant, and the effect was
only interpreted based on descriptive statistics of the three groups
at pre- and post-test.
One experimental study with a treated control group assessed
non-verbal divergent thinking after a single drama improvisation
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Schneider and Rohmann
session in a sample of 34 ten- and eleven-year-old sixth grade
schoolchildren (Sowden et al., 2015a). Large intervention effect
sizes for the originality and elaboration measures from the
Incomplete Figures Tasks of the Torrance Tests of Creative
Thinking (Torrance, 1974, as cited in Sowden et al., 2015a) were
found. The effect size for abstractness was non-significant and its
size was not reported.
Dance Education
Two studies evaluated the social outcomes of the weekly 90-
min dance intervention TanzZeit [time to dance], taught over
a period of one or two semesters in quasi-experimental designs
using untreated control groups (Zander et al., 2014; Kreutzmann
et al., 2018). The studies employed sizable samples (n = 606 and
n = 361).
Both studies reported significant treatment effects on
variables assessing affective and/or collaborative social networks,
measured by asking students to indicate how much they liked
or liked collaborating with each classmate, and their feelings
of social belonging. Small effects of the dance intervention on
affective networks were found in one study (Kreutzmann et al.,
2018), but these were trivial in the study by Zander et al. (2014).
Kreutzmann and colleagues also reported evidence for affective
social networks mediating the relationship between the dance
intervention and sense of social belonging. However, effect sizes
for direct and indirect paths to social belonging remained on the
trivial level, and sensitivity analysis revealed that their sizes were
dependent on the contrast codes employed. For collaborative
networks, Zander and colleagues reported small intervention
effects in the subsample of boys, and large intervention effects for
boys’ opposite-sex nominations. These effects were not observed
in the subsample of female participants.
One experimental study assessed the effects of a 20-min folk
dance physical activity on creativity outcomes among Indian
children (Bollimbala et al., 2019). A sample of 34 sixth and
seventh grade children were randomly assigned to a 20-min class
or a sedentary control group. Pre- and post-tests of divergent
and convergent thinking revealed small experimental effects on
convergent thinking only, and a small effect in the opposite
direction was extracted on flexibility in divergent thinking across
the entire sample. However, in the subgroup of children with
normal body mass index (BMI), as opposed to the other half
of the sample with low BMI, small experimental effects were
revealed on all dimensions of the divergent and convergent
thinking measures.
Visual Arts Education
One evaluation study assessed the outcomes of two visual arts
programs on self-efficacy, self-concept, internal and external
success attributions, worldviews and self-reported creativity
(Catterall and Peppler, 2007). A total of 179 nine to 10-year-old
third grade children were assessed in a quasi-experimental design
with untreated control groups after 20–30 weeks of weekly 60-
to 90-min classes. Significant self-efficacy gains were observed
among children in the visual arts groups, an effect of medium
size in relation to the changes in the control groups. Differences
between groups and over time on self-concept, internal and
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external success attributions and worldviews were not significant
and effect sizes not retrievable. Self-reported creativity measures
were based on the dimensions of the Torrance Test of Creative
Thinking (Abedi, 2002). A large treatment effect was extracted
for the creativity dimension of originality. No effect sizes could
be extracted for the non-significant effects on the creativity
dimensions of fluency, flexibility and elaboration.
Comparisons Between Different Art Domains
One experimental (Freeman et al., 2003) and one quasi-
experimental study (Rickard et al., 2012, Study 1) comparing
the effects of music and drama interventions allowed for the
extraction of relevant effect sizes on measures of self-image, self-
concepts, self-esteem, and attitudes. Sample sizes ranged from n
= 111 to n = 185.
Freeman et al. (2003) reported no significant post-test
differences between music and drama groups. However, small
effects according to Morris (2008) calculated on a subsample
with both pre- and post-measures indicate that drama students
exhibited greater improvement in self-reported self-image and
academic self-concept, and music students’ greater improvement
in social self-concept. No differences were found in teacher
ratings of social skills and problem behavior. Rickard et al. (2012)
did not report significant group × time interaction effects on
the respective outcomes. However, small effect sizes according
to Morris (2008) indicate stronger effects of drama education
on academic self-esteem, general attitudes and attitudes toward
social integration compared to the music group. Similarly, with
medium effect sizes, drama had stronger effects on attitudes
toward teaching and status among peers and medium to large
effect sizes on engagement and motivation in arts class.
Proposed Mechanisms of Change
It has been proposed that music engagement may promote
empathic processes and social cohesion through the experience
of rhythmic and movement cohesion (Rabinowitch et al.,
2013; Schellenberg et al., 2015), which can be explained from
an evolutionary perspective (Huron, 2001; Tarr et al., 2014).
Similar mechanisms have been proposed for the effects of dance
interventions on social outcome variables (Zander et al., 2014;
Kreutzmann et al., 2018), with the additional aspect of physical
proximity and opportunity for contact being a possible catalyst
for friendships (theory of social impact, Latané et al., 1995).
According to Kreutzmann and colleagues, dance choreography
also creates an interdependency among participants which may
foster these social variables (social interdependence theory,
Johnson and Johnson, 2009). The drama intervention by Walsh
and colleagues (structured fantasy approach, Walsh et al., 1991)
was derived from social development theory and the role of play
for becoming competent in social situations (Vygotsky, 1967).
Similarly, Freeman et al. (2003) propose that elements of social
skills trainings are integral to creative drama and, like Catterall
and Peppler (2007), propose that mastery experiences from the
creative classroom can transfer to generalized self-efficacy, as
theorized in Bandura’s social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986).
Catterall and Peppler, 2007 assessed creativity outcomes of
visual arts programs and propose that visual arts programs
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Schneider and Rohmann
provide the learning environment to engage in metacognitive
activities, which are central in Bruner’s (1966) constructivist
model, as well as active and collaborative learning (situated
learning, Lave and Wenger, 1991; distributed learning, Bransford
and Schwartz, 1999). Sowden et al. (2015a) applied the dual-
process theory of creative thinking (Sowden et al., 2015b) to
identify the creativity processes, namely divergent thinking, they
expected to be specifically affected by an improvisation class.
Four studies reported mixed method approaches by
incorporating observational and interview data (Walsh-Bowers,
1992; Walsh-Bowers and Basso, 1999; Catterall and Peppler,
2007) to understand student’s responses to the intervention, their
engagement and processes of development.
Risk of Bias
Several common risks of bias were identified across studies. Just
over a quarter of the included studies (26.9%) fully randomized
participants into groups, thereby minimizing systematic
variation not caused by the experimental manipulation. Just over
half of the studies (51.9%) included a treated control group. Such
a comparison group is important to distinguish a treatment effect
from a behavior change merely due to the novelty or increased
attention involved in participating in a new program, similar to
a placebo effect (Winner et al., 2013). Less than a third of studies
evaluated intervention durations of more than a year (30.8%),
while 15.4% of studies evaluated one-off classes or interventions
with a maximum 10 weeks duration.
Only 7.4% of included studies recruited a sample size based
on an a priori power analysis. Furthermore, 88.5% of studies
employed a sample size smaller than n = 200, which would be
sample size required to detect a small time × group interaction
effect in a 2 × 2 ANOVA (calculation in G∗ Power 3; Faul
et al., 2007; f = 0.10, α = 0.05, 1–β = 0.80, correlation
among repeated measures = 0.5, non-sphericity correction = 1).
Insufficient statistical power has implications for the reliability
of significance tests and effect size estimates. Information on
participant attrition could be extracted from 12 studies, of which
one study had low attrition (below 5%), five studies medium (5–
20%) and six studies large attrition (more than 20%; attrition
classification according to Schulz and Grimes, 2002). Just over
two-thirds of the studies provided reliability information for
the instruments used. Of these, half (nine studies) reported
acceptable reliability values (≥0.70) for all employed instruments.
DISCUSSION
Answers to the Research Questions
A systematic review of the literature was conducted in order
to answer the following questions: (1) How effective is arts
education with respect to outcomes in the DeSeCo categories (a)
using tools interactively, (b) interacting in socially heterogonous
groups, (c) acting autonomously and (d) the concept of
reflectiveness? (2) What are the methodological characteristics
and limitations of the included studies? Regarding the outcome
category using tools interactively, most eligible studies reported
on outcomes of music education. Wide ranges of effect sizes
were found across outcome variables. This variation may be
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Arts in Education
due to generally small sample sizes and unreliable effect size
point estimates, as indicated by the large confidence intervals.
There was some evidence of the potential benefit of music
training on processing speed based on a few studies with small
to medium effect sizes. However, no such effects were found in
another study (Guo et al., 2018). Music students outperformed
painting students with a large effect size difference in speech
segmentation, as assessed by test performance and event-related
potentials (François et al., 2013). Inconsistent and trivial effects
of music education were observed on vocabulary, visual memory,
visual performance, and non-verbal intelligence. There was some
support for effects of music training on arithmetic abilities, but
this was only based on a few studies and effect sizes ranged
from small to large. No effect of music training was found
on global or verbal intelligence scores; however, a large effect
emerged for non-verbal intelligence compared to a painting
group. These mixed findings stand in contrast to previous
studies finding that music education increases intelligence. For
example, in an evaluation of a free community music program,
Schellenberg (2004) pre-assessed a sample of 6-year-old children
before entering first grade. At 1-year follow-up, small to medium-
sized effects of music training on intelligence were found when
compared to children with drama or no treatment. However,
the effects of music education on cognitive outcomes may be
moderated by age. Developmental gains and plasticity in younger
children could explain differences by age in some cognitive effects
of arts education.
Three studies assessed creativity outcomes of drama
improvisation, visual arts or dance classes. Large effects were
found for divergent thinking, mostly the originality dimension,
after drama or visual arts classes. However, effects on divergent
thinking were not as clear in an Indian sample of children
receiving a twenty-minute folk dance class, where the presence
of an effect seemed to be moderated by the children’s BMI
(Bollimbala et al., 2019). It is important to note that two of these
studies assessed the children’s performance on creativity tests
immediately after a single one-off class. Therefore, the effect may
represent a momentary state of mind. On the other hand, longer-
term effects of regular visual arts classes were only measured
using a self-report creativity measure, and comparisons across
instruments should be made with caution (Catterall and Peppler,
2007). Based on the included studies, conclusions about the
sustainability of creativity over time and differential effects of
longer-term versus one-off classes cannot be made.
Regarding the outcome categories interacting in socially
heterogonous groups and acting autonomously, a small number
of studies were eligible for inclusion in this review. These
examined a range of different outcomes with often inconclusive
or even contrasting results. For interpersonal outcomes, positive
results with medium and large effects were reported for music
training on the related concepts of empathy and sympathy as
well as prosocial behavior. However, these were based on only
a few studies. Furthermore, when looking at the effect of music
education on reducing unfavorable behavior, such as aggression,
the results were mixed across studies. Likewise, the evidence
for effects of dance and drama on interpersonal outcomes was
uncertain due to a small number of studies and contrasting or
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trivial effect sizes. Dance effects on some interpersonal outcomes
may be moderated by gender, an observation that calls for more
research applying moderation analyses. Finally, with respect to
intrapersonal outcomes, the suggested positive effects of music
on self-esteem and of visual arts on self-efficacy were based only
on single studies, which precludes a general conclusion.
The limited support for social-emotional outcomes of arts
education in this review contradicts a plausible expectation of
such benefits, for instance due to the increased opportunities
for social interactions and collaboration which are characteristic
of performing arts. For example, previous research found some
evidence for social and emotional benefits of drama on empathy,
perspective taking and emotional regulation, in line with such
expectations (Winner et al., 2013). A scoping review of the role
of the arts for health and well-being published by the World
Health Organization (Fancourt and Finn, 2019) delivered further
evidence for beneficial effects of the arts on social cohesion
among different populations in the community and particularly
wide-ranging social-emotional benefits for socio-economically
disadvantaged groups. However, the small number of included
studies and a number of limitations of these studies discussed
below call for caution to draw conclusions. Further, while this
review has focused solely on the class level, more subtle individual
changes may be missed. The following discussion of the second
research question will also debate the choice of outcomes and
methods for their assessment.
The second aim of the review was to answer the question:
What are the methodological characteristics, strengths and
limitations of the included studies? The review’s inclusion criteria
focused on quasi- and experimental studies with pre-test post-
test designs and effect size estimates. While quasi-experimental
studies are limited in their ability to provide causal evidence,
experimental studies are commonly considered the “gold-
standard” to demonstrate causal impact. Pre- and post-measures
allow for the control of changes over time and effect sizes and
confidence intervals enable an estimation of the size and certainty
of effects. However, the restrictive inclusion criteria resulted in
a small number of included studies, of which only 27% used
randomization into intervention and control groups. The scarcity
of the so-called “gold standard” research method in the field may
be partly due to practical considerations and financial limitations.
Further, it may be a reflection of a controversy between the need
of rigorous evaluations, what scientific methods are appropriate
for evaluations and the concern that experimental methods may
be too reductionist to be suitable for more holistic and complex
experiences and impacts of the arts. As discussed in the context of
complementary medicine by Mason et al. (2002), these concerns
are not unreasonable and need to be acknowledged in the design
of rigorous evaluation studies.
For example, programs evaluated in (quasi-) experimental
designs tend to be shorter in duration and/or follow-up
compared to correlational research and may not provide long
enough exposure and follow-up to uncover meaningful effects
(Catterall, 2002; McCarthy et al., 2004). For example, this review
also included studies which only evaluated one-off classes or very
short educational programs with short retest intervals. It has
been suggested that a minimum intervention duration of one
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Arts in Education
year is required to determine if a transfer effect occurred (Moga
et al., 2000). Only eight of the included studies met this criterion.
Results from short programs therefore need to be interpreted
with caution.
Second, sample sizes tend to be smaller in (quasi-)
experimental designs. This results in small statistical power and,
alongside short follow-up periods and variations in individual
experiences, non-significant cohort effects. A majority of the
included studies had small sample sizes and would have been
insufficiently powered to discover small effects.
Third, arts programs are more difficult to standardize and
evaluation research needs to take the impact of the practitioner
and participant relationship and adaptations in delivery into
account. According to Ewing (2010), stronger interventions are
the ones that can be adapted to the participants and contexts
which makes comparison across interventions more difficult.
Finally, outcomes need to be broad enough or appropriate for
the respective program. As illustrated in the introduction, the
choice of exclusively instrumental outcomes has been critiqued
as it disregards the intrinsic outcomes of the arts. While the
DeSeCo framework selected for the categorization of outcomes
in this review adopts a wider perspective and arguably includes
intrinsic processes in intra- and interpersonal level outcomes,
the limitations of this perspective will be discussed below. In
addition, qualitative research can be illuminating to understand
relevant outcomes and complex real-world experiences. As
proposed by Paluck (2010), field experiments do not need to be
and should not be exclusively quantitative but can be integrated
with qualitative methods. The integration of qualitative data
allows to shed light on pathways and outcomes and can
strengthen the conclusions from the quantitative data. For
example, in an evaluation of the impact of Creative Partnerships
(CP) on children’s wellbeing, the quantitative survey study with
CP and control schools was complemented with qualitative case
studies (McLellan et al., 2012b). While the former did not find
statistically significant effects between the schools, the latter
illuminated mechanisms in high-wellbeing schools which can be
fostered through arts integration and differences between the
CP and control school (Galton and Page, 2014; McLellan and
Steward, 2014). In another example in one of the here included
studies, Catterall and Peppler (2007) conducted observations of
the visual arts and home classrooms in both intervention and
control schools. The results of the observations complemented
their survey-based data by suggesting how the arts classes
may have produced the observed effects. They observed higher
student engagement in arts classes, more positive relations
between peers and with adults, a change in how teachers viewed
students and significant improvements in the integration of two
case study students. Thus, the insights from the qualitative data
can inform the design of future studies to test processes and help
theory building.
Hence, the integration of qualitative methods into field
experiments seems to be a promising approach. As the above
examples illustrate, the combination of observation of classroom
sessions and interviews of students and teachers within a field
experiment enables a fuller elaboration of the mechanisms and
complexities in arts education. First, observations allow the
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study of processes in the classroom, the in-depth analysis of
program characteristics and nuances in the delivery, engagement
and relationships in the classroom. Thus, the nature of
experiences and specific ingredients of programs can be more
fully understood and compared. Second, interviews with students
and teachers in intervention and control groups can help to
understand the complex experiences in and outside the respective
classroom. For example, in an evaluation of the impact of
a music orchestral program on collaborative skills, students
may be asked about how they like collaborative work and
to comment on experiences that created their like or dislike.
Further, they could be asked questions about their collaborative
relationships with peers at school and to give examples of when
they feel collaboration went well or not so well. Interviews
also enable a wider exploration of outcomes than what has
been pre-specified in the quantitative data collection method.
Therefore, rich data from qualitative research can help to support
quantitative (experimental) research by illuminating important
program characteristics, experiences, pathways and outcomes
which are difficult to uncover in exclusively quantitative group
level analysis.
As discussed above, there is a controversy about the
appropriateness of experimental designs in the evaluation of
the arts and holistic interventions. It may be fruitful to shift
the focus of the discussion away from the experimental design
and toward the limitations of associated shortcomings, such as
the concern of being reductionist. Whilst a critical discussion
of the “gold standard” is reasonable, the experimental design is
not incompatible with some of the solutions discussed above,
including qualitative research.
Strengths and Limitations
One of the key objectives of the current review was to provide
an overview of (quasi-)experimental evaluation studies of school-
based arts education with pre-test post-test designs in order
to identify what can be concluded from the evidence so far.
Given the small sample sizes prevalent in this research field,
this review focused on available and retrievable effect size
estimates and confidence intervals. While the focus on effect
sizes has significantly reduced the number of included studies,
it allowed for a non-binary interpretation of the results, and the
application of caution in consideration of the (un)certainty of
evidence. From the narrative synthesis of the included studies,
the review was able to summarize the limitations and gaps in the
(quasi-)experimental research.
Yet, this review has also some limitations that should be
considered. The formulation of the search strings may have
missed relevant studies. However, by screening previous reviews
and additional publications by the authors of included papers,
potential bias due to the search strategy was minimized as much
as possible.
Furthermore, the selected inclusion and exclusion criteria
pose some limitations with implications for the interpretation
of the results. First, the small number of quantitative evaluation
studies in the field made it impractical to further narrow the
selection down based on additional, albeit important design
(e.g., randomization, sample size, follow-up duration) or context
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Arts in Education
characteristics (e.g., age group). Consequently, the heterogeneity
of the included studies with regard to these aspects limited the
conclusions that could be drawn across them. Additionally, the
criteria generated only a very small number of eligible studies
for most art domains except music. These were insufficient to
answer the research questions in this review, highlighting the
need for further experimental research with sufficient sample
sizes in the field, especially in the domains of drama, dance
and visual arts. Second, the limitation to studies in peer-
reviewed journals meant that the review excluded unpublished
literature. Risk of publication bias cannot be ruled out. Third,
while the exclusion of after-school clubs or programs outside
of the school context attempted to minimize biases due to
accessibility and self-selection, not all included studies delivered
programs within the mandatory curriculum and thus, some
self-selection biases cannot be excluded. Fourth, the choice of
the DeSeCo framework and exclusion of studies in therapeutic
setting will have excluded intrinsic outcomes of arts education
not covered by the criteria. The results of this review should
thus not be understood as a generalizable claim about the
impact of the arts in general and rather be considered as an
overview and critical analysis of the limitations of the available
(quasi-)experimental research in terms of its outcomes and
methodological characteristics.
The current review focused on universal effects on the group
level, whilst the elaboration of moderators was not an objective.
However, it is important to note that some effects may be
stronger for different subgroups. For example, age has been
shown to be related to intervention effect sizes, with greater
effects for pre-school interventions compared to school-based
interventions (e.g., Campbell and Ramey, 1994; Ulubey, 2018).
Similarly, other characteristics such as gender should be part
of future moderator considerations. A few studies included in
this review assessed gender effects (e.g., Zander et al., 2014),
(mal-)nutrition (Bollimbala et al., 2019) and baseline levels
of the outcome variable as moderators (Schellenberg et al.,
2015).
CONCLUSION
The present review systematically searched and summarized
the evidence on the effects of arts education (namely music,
drama, dance, and visual arts) from quasi-experimental and
experimental studies and critically discussed the evidence
to date. Most included studies evaluated music programs,
while the evidence base for drama, dance and visual arts is
sparse. Largely, the number of studies and methodological
characteristics did not justify definite conclusions. Whereas
experimental designs are considered the “gold standard” to
demonstrate causal impact, the present review has demonstrated
that the “gold standard” is often associated with a range
of methodological limitations which create uncertainty in
the conclusions. To support hypothesized mechanisms and
theory building, the inclusion of qualitative methods into field
experiments seems a promising method as illustrated by a
few examples.
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Schneider and Rohmann
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The original contributions presented in the study are included
in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be
directed to the corresponding author/s.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
AR and VS designed the review. VS was responsible
for writing the initial and final version of the paper,
conducting the systematic searches, and completing data
extraction. AR supervised the study and contributed to
the discussion and during the paper writing process. Both
authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript
for publication.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The systematic review was conducted as part of the bachelor
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Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a
potential conflict of interest.
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